Vacuum cleaners and, in particular, those of the canister type typically include a nozzle assembly for coupling with a wand that, in turn, connects to the canister. Since it is advantageous to manipulate the wand relative to the nozzle assembly for various reasons, many in the art have proposed different types of specialized connectors for this purpose. An example of one such arrangement is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,429 to Martin et al., which shows a swivel-type connector for enabling rotational movement of a handle associated with the wand.
While the arrangement shown in the '429 patent does indeed permit the desired rotational movement, it is not without limitations. For one, the swivel connector itself includes the electrical coupling for the wand and, thus, requires a tubular piece intermediate the wand and the swivel connector to provide the desired ability to rotate. This type of arrangement also includes many parts to achieve the coupling, and thus would be not only complicated to use, but also expensive to produce and maintain.
Accordingly, a need is identified for an improved swivel assembly for connecting a wand to a nozzle assembly of a vacuum cleaner. The assembly would couple the nozzle assembly with the wand using a minimum number of parts, but without in any way sacrificing the security of the connection or foreclosing the desired relative rotation. The assembly would also be relatively easy and inexpensive to manufacture, requiring a minimum amount of assembly time and effort. Overall, the swivel assembly would be a significant improvement over the complicated and less reliable designs of the prior art.